Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeuticshttp://jpet.aspetjournals.org/icons/banner/title.gifhttp://jpet.aspetjournals.org
http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/short/335/2/294?rss=1
Adolescence is a well defined developmental period during which marijuana use is common. However, little is known about the response to marijuana in adolescents compared with adults. We have shown previously that adolescent rats are more impaired than adults by 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, in a spatial learning task, but the mechanism responsible for this differential impairment is not understood. We determined the role of THC tolerance and cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) regulation in THC-induced spatial learning impairment in adolescent and adult rats. We measured the development of tolerance to THC-induced learning impairment in adolescent (postnatal days 30–35) and adult (postnatal days 70–75) rats. We pretreated them for 5 days with 10 mg/kg THC, and then evaluated the effects of vehicle or THC treatment on learning during training in the Morris water maze. We also determined CB1 number and functional coupling in the hippocampus of adolescents and adults. Finally, we measured the time course of hippocampal CB1 desensitization in adolescents and adults during treatment with 10 mg/kg THC or vehicle. Our results indicate that adults, but not adolescents, become tolerant to the effects of THC during water maze training after 5 days of pretreatment. CB1s in adolescent hippocampus are less functionally coupled to G proteins and desensitize more slowly in response to THC treatment than those of adults. THC may impair learning in adolescents more than in adults because of delayed activation of cellular homeostatic adaptive mechanisms underlying cannabinoid tolerance in the hippocampus.
]]>2010-10-19T04:35:58-07:00info:doi/10.1124/jpet.110.169359American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics2010-11-01NEUROPHARMACOLOGY3352294301http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/short/335/2/380?rss=1
Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mediates inflammation and contributes to neurodegeneration. Best known for its pathological up-regulation, COX-2 is also constitutively expressed within the brain and mediates synaptic transmission through prostaglandin synthesis. Along with arachidonic acid, COX-2 oxygenates the endocannabinoids anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol in vitro. Inhibition of COX-2 enhances retrograde signaling in the hippocampus, suggesting COX-2 mediates endocannabinoid tone in healthy brain. The degree to which COX-2 may regulate endocannabinoid metabolism in vivo is currently unclear. Therefore, we explored the effect of COX-2 inhibition on [3H]AEA metabolism in mouse brain. Although AEA is hydrolyzed primarily by fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), ex vivo autoradiography revealed that COX-2 inhibition by nimesulide redirected [3H]AEA substrate from COX-2 to FAAH in the cortex, hippocampus, thalamus, and periaqueductal gray. These data indicate that COX-2 possesses the capacity to metabolize AEA in vivo and can compete with FAAH for AEA in several brain regions. Temporal fluctuations in COX-2 expression were observed in the brain, with an increase in COX-2 protein and mRNA in the hippocampus at midnight compared with noon. COX-2 immunolocalization was robust in the hippocampus and several cortical regions. Although most regions exhibited no temporal changes in COX-2 immunolocalization, increased numbers of immunoreactive cells were detected at midnight in layers II and III of the somatosensory and visual cortices. These temporal variations in COX-2 distribution reduced the enzyme's contribution toward [3H]AEA metabolism in the somatosensory cortex at midnight. Taken together, our findings establish COX-2 as a mediator of regional AEA metabolism in mouse brain.
]]>2010-10-19T04:35:59-07:00info:doi/10.1124/jpet.110.168831American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics2010-11-01NEUROPHARMACOLOGY3352380388http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/short/335/2/401?rss=1
Lamotrigine (LTG), an anticonvulsive drug, is often used for the treatment of a variety of epilepsies. In addition to block of sodium channels, LTG may act on other targets to exert its antiepileptic effect. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of LTG on neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) using the patch-clamp technique on human 4β2-nAChRs heterologously expressed in the SH-EP1 cell line and on native 4β2-nAChRs in dopaminergic (DA) neurons in rat ventral tegmental area (VTA). In SH-EP1 cells, LTG diminished the peak and steady-state components of the inward 4β2-nAChR-mediated currents. This effect exhibited concentration-, voltage- and use-dependent behavior. Nicotine dose-response curves showed that in the presence of LTG, the nicotine-induced maximal current was reduced, suggesting a noncompetitive inhibition. These findings suggest that LTG inhibits human neuronal 4β2-nAChR function through an open-channel blocking mechanism. LTG-induced inhibition in 4β2-nAChRs was more profound when preceded by a 2-min pretreatment, after which the nicotine-induced current was reduced even without coapplication of LTG, suggesting that LTG is also able to inhibit 4β2-nAChRs without channel activation. In freshly dissociated VTA DA neurons, LTG inhibited 4β2-nAChR-mediated currents but did not affect glutamate- or GABA-induced currents, indicating that LTG selectively inhibits nAChR function. Collectively, our data suggest that the neuronal 4β2-nAChR is likely an important target for mediating the anticonvulsive effect of LTG and the blockade of 4β2-nAChR possibly underlying the mechanism through which LTG effectively controls some types of epilepsy, such as autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy or juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.
]]>2010-10-19T04:35:59-07:00info:doi/10.1124/jpet.110.171108American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics2010-11-01NEUROPHARMACOLOGY3352401408http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/short/335/2/409?rss=1
T-type calcium channels have been implicated in many behaviorally important neurophysiological processes, and altered channel activity has been linked to the pathophysiology of neurological disorders such as insomnia, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, depression, schizophrenia, and pain. We have previously identified a number of potent and selective T-type channel antagonists (Barrow et al., 2007; Shipe et al., 2008; Yang et al., 2008). Here we describe the properties of the antagonist TTA-A2 [2-(4-cyclopropylphenyl)-N-((1R)-1-{5-[(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)oxo]-pyridin-2-yl}ethyl)acetamide], assessed in patch-clamp experiments. TTA-A2 blocks T-type channels (Cav3.1, 3.2, 3.3) voltage dependently and with high potency (IC50 ~100 nM). Stimulation at 3 Hz revealed additional use dependence of inhibition. A hyperpolarized shift of the channel availability curve and delayed channel recovery from inactivation suggest that the compound preferentially interacts with and stabilizes inactivated channels. The compound showed a ~300-fold selectivity for Cav3 channels over high-voltage activated calcium channels. Inhibitory effects on native T-type currents were confirmed in brain slice recordings from the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and the subthalamic nucleus. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in vivo T-type channel inhibition by TTA-A2 suppresses active wake and promotes slow-wave sleep in wild-type mice but not in mice lacking both Cav3.1 and Cav3.3, suggesting the selective effect of TTA-A2 on recurrent thalamocortical network activity. The discovery of the potent and selective T-type channel antagonist TTA-A2 has enabled us to study the in vivo effects of pharmacological T-channel inhibition on arousal in mice, and it will help to explore the validity of these channels as potential drug targets for sleep-related and other neurological diseases.
]]>2010-10-19T04:35:59-07:00info:doi/10.1124/jpet.110.171058American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics2010-11-01NEUROPHARMACOLOGY3352409417http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/short/335/2/458?rss=1
-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is a therapeutic drug, a drug of abuse, and an endogenous substance that binds to low- and high-affinity sites in the mammalian brain. To target the specific GHB binding sites, we have developed a 125I-labeled GHB analog and characterized its binding in rat brain homogenate and slices. Our data show that [125I]4-hydroxy-4-[4-(2-iodobenzyloxy)phenyl]butanoate ([125I]BnOPh-GHB) binds to one site in rat brain cortical membranes with low nanomolar affinity (Kd, 7 nM; Bmax, 61 pmol/mg protein). The binding is inhibited by GHB and selected analogs, but not by -aminobutyric acid. Autoradiography using horizontal slices from rat brain demonstrates the highest density of binding in hippocampus and cortical regions and the lowest density in the cerebellum. Altogether, the findings correlate with the labeling and brain regional distribution of high-affinity GHB sites or [3H](E,RS)-(6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5-hydroxy-5H-benzocyclohept-6-ylidene)acetic acid ([3H]NCS-382) binding sites. Using a 125I-labeled photoaffinity derivative of the new GHB ligand, we have performed denaturing protein electrophoresis and detected one major protein band with an apparent mass of 50 kDa from cortical and hippocampal membranes. [125I]BnOPh-GHB is the first reported 125I-labeled GHB radioligand and is a useful tool for in vitro studies of the specific high-affinity GHB binding sites. The related photoaffinity linker [125I]4-hydroxy-4-[4-(2-azido-5-iodobenzyloxy)phenyl]butanoate can be used as a probe for isolation of the elusive GHB binding protein.
]]>2010-10-19T04:35:59-07:00info:doi/10.1124/jpet.110.170670American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics2010-11-01NEUROPHARMACOLOGY3352458464http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/short/335/2/465?rss=1
Ethanol has been shown to have both presynaptic and postsynaptic effects on synaptic transmission. However, the mechanisms by which ethanol affects evoked neurotransmitter release have not been studied at the mouse neuromuscular junction, a synapse at which binomial analysis of neurotransmitter release and measurements of prejunctional ionic currents can be made. Ethanol (400 mM) increased neurotransmitter release independently of both the cAMP and phorbol ester/Munc13 signaling pathways. Binomial analysis of neurotransmitter release revealed that ethanol increases the average probability of secretion without an effect on the immediately available store of the neurotransmitter. Application of ethanol also resulted in an inhibition of potassium currents in the motor nerve endings. These results suggest that the potentiating effects of ethanol on neurotransmitter release at the skeletal neuromuscular junction are mediated by an inhibition of the delayed rectifier potassium current, thus increasing both calcium entry into the nerve ending and the probability of neurotransmitter release. Identifying the mechanism through which ethanol enhances neurotransmitter release at the neuromuscular junction may be useful in determining the processes underlying the enhancement of neurotransmitter release at other synapses.
]]>2010-10-19T04:35:59-07:00info:doi/10.1124/jpet.110.171355American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics2010-11-01NEUROPHARMACOLOGY3352465471